FLINT, MI – The family of a woman who died after she was taken to the Genesee County Jail claims she was denied medical treatment while in custody.

The family of Joice Howard filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against a Grand Blanc Township police officer, several Genesee County Sheriff's deputies, a nurse with Prison Health Services, as well as Genesee County.

Attorney Neal Wilensky, who represents Joice Howard's daughter in the lawsuit, said the family approached him with the lawsuit claiming Joice Howard asked for medical attention several times concerning her seizure condition, but never received it.

"It was filed because this woman requested medical attention and was denied it at different times by different deputies and she ended up bleeding to death," Wilensky said.

Attorney William Reising, who represents the county and sheriff's deputies in the case, said his clients maintain that Joice received medical treatment when she needed it.

"We take the position that what the plaintiff has asserted is not a correct interpretation of what transpired when this lady was at the Genesee County Jail," Reisling said.

Howard was visiting a relative at Genesys Hospital on June 19, 2012, where she and her fiancé, John Clark, were arrested for warrants. Clark locked his keys in his car and asked the hospital security person for help, according to court records.

Wilensky said security called Grand Blanc Township Police who arrested the pair on warrants.

"The cops came out and found that the fiancé had an old bench warrant and then Joice tried to intervene, so then they found that she had an old bench warrant," Wilensky said.

At the time of her arrest, Wilensky said Howard was in a wheelchair recovering from a recent fall. He said she suffered from a seizure condition.

The lawsuit claims Howard told the arresting Grand Blanc Township officer about her condition and asked to be allowed to have medical attention for her seizures. Wilensky said this was the first of several times that Howard was denied medical attention for her condition.

Wilensky said Howard was transferred to the Genesee County Jail where she told deputies about her seizure disorder and that she was in need of medication.

The next morning, Howard's health took a turn for the worse, according to court records. Prior to her arraignment in Genesee District Court, she complained to several sheriff's deputies about abdominal pain and coughing up blood and was denied medical treatment.

When Howard was arraigned, she told the judge she was in need of medical attention due to seizure activity.

A deputy found Howard that afternoon in the day room at the Genesee County Jail having a grand mal seizure, according to the lawsuit. The deputy assisted Howard during the seizure, then helped her into her wheelchair and took her to the medical department, where the lawsuit claims she was in a confused state.

Howard was kept under medical observation for less than two hours while she continued to have confusion and began coughing up blood, according to the lawsuit. The medical department then gave Howard medication, but she was not seen by a doctor and was sent back to the floor of the Genesee County Jail by the nurse in charge.

The attorney for the nurse named in the suit declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, but Corizon Health spokesperson Susan Morgenstern said while they can't go into details, they plan on fighting the allegations in court.

"Because this is an issue involving pending litigation, we are not able to comment on the specifics. However, we plan to vigorously defend the case in court." Morgenstern said in an email.

Twenty minutes later Howard was lying on the floor next to her bunk having another seizure, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit says it was then decided by the head nurse to transfer Howard to Hurley Medical Center. The lawsuit claims Howard had her third seizure while she was in the triage at Hurley.

According to the complaint, Howard told nurses at Hurley that she had bloody vomiting while in the jail and also experienced lower abdominal pain with nausea.

"When Hurley worked her up they found out she was internally bleeding, but by then her condition had declined and she wasn't strong enough to go through surgery and then she died a day or two later," Wilensky said.

Howard died at Hurley Medical Center on June 22, 2012. Her daughter, Camika Howard, is seeking a judgment exceeding $100,000, although Wilensky said they have not settled on a dollar amount because they are still in the discovery process of litigation.

"We are looking for loss of society and companionship damages on behalf of the estate. Joice had three daughters and they have all suffered the loss of their mother, and there's grandchildren and they've suffered the loss of their grandmother," Wilensky said. "It was a tragedy to this family."

Grand Blanc Township Police Chief David Stamm, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell, and County Commission Chairman Jamie Curtis declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

The attorney for the Grand Blanc Township officer named in the lawsuit could not be reached for comment.